The Heart is the Nearest Enemy
by Lady in the Willows
Summary: ‘Pain seared her heart as she crumpled to the ground, her tired legs no longer willing to support her. Tears of anguish stung her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. Did all love cause such agony?’ One-shot.


Rating: PG 

Theme: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Erik is certainly not mine. Wishing that were somehow not the truth, wishing that was somehow false. You get the point, right?

Summary: 'Pain seared her heart as she crumpled to the ground, her tired legs no longer willing to support her. Tears of anguish stung her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. Did all love cause such agony?' One-shot.

(Author's Note: Did the summary catch your attention? I hope it did. This one-shot is just for me because I felt like whipping out one of my plot ideas to toy with. So, here you are. Enjoy. I flatter myself by thinking it's some of my best and most poetic work. One would describe it as painfully romantic. Up for a little romance?)

**The Heart is the Nearest Enemy**

Mallory Kent ran.

Her feet pounded hard against the hard concrete. The rough contact scraped and dirtied the skin of her feet but she didn't care. Physical pain meant so little compared to excruciating emotions that stormed inside her. Her heart hammered inside her chest along with the pace she kept. The heart she desperately wished to outrun. The heart she wished to tear out and curse to the depths of the seven hells for causing such misery.

The heart that had fallen in love.

Indeed, such was her pain that she barely noticed when concrete changed to grass. Her feet had automatically led her to the lake. There she could rest. There she could think.

Pain seared her heart as she crumpled to the ground, her tired legs no longer willing to support her. Tears of anguish stung her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. Did all love cause such agony? Or was it only her foolhardy core that induced that misery?

Breathing deeply, she tried to collect herself. Mallory glanced over into the lake's reflection. Sad sapphire eyes, overflowing with tears, somberly stared back at her. Chestnut hair tumbled out of her pitiful attempt at a bun and tangled in front of her heart-shaped face. Her lips were pouted and red from tears, her skin pale from lack of life. She was a tiny creature, no more than 5'1".

Once she had pretended she was a water nymph, come to dance on the lake and flow with the rhythm of life. The wind tousled her hair and reminded her of those dreams of freedom and frolic. Those things didn't exist for her now. As she grew, her heart knew pain, sorrow and the crushing weight of responsibility. Even if she was offered the chance of becoming a free spirit of the water or the wind, she had no right to take it. Mallory was needed where she was. She had no choice but to remain where she was.

"Besides," she murmured in her voice of bells and springtime, "I was meant to dream of love and ecstasy. My kind has enough imagination to bear them away on the flights of fancy that lead to hours of idle dreaming. But in the end, we are not suited to those beautiful fantasies. We are too plain, too common, for such sweet daydreams." Her voice cracked and she wept again, burying her face in her arms and curling up in the grass.

Curse the day she'd ever heard of love! Damn the hour her tender heart had first surrendered itself to him who could never love her in return. With a trembling smile, she whispered, "Damn you, curse you."

His words.

His rage.

His love that would never grace her fragile soul. What could she hope for but some peace in this time of woe and misery?

But if for a moment, she could indulge. If only for the briefest of moments, she could pretend her fate was not so unchangeable. It would only take the merest nudge at her imagination to begin the most highly valued reverie of her meager existence.

If he were real, he'd stand behind her for a moment. Then his voice, more beautiful than rain upon the silver dust of heaven's stars, would call to her.

"Mallory, your heart has yet to lose its strength. Do not curse it now when you need it most." She would raise her head, the first timid glimmers of hope shining in her eyes. His shadowy figure, garbed in black, his face covered by a white mask, and his eyes the dearest shade of gold that ever rivaled the glory of the sun, would fill her heart with a joy that could hardly be described. Such a joy was felt by precious few. Among them are Romeo and Juliet. The star-crossed lovers experienced that rapture and delight when they met in heaven. The angels sing the praises of such gladness and sweet maidens feel it when united with their heart's beloved.

It would take only a moment for the demoiselle to fly from her heartbroken pose and into the arms of the only one who claimed her heart.

"You're here," she would whisper. "Thank the powers of the universe. You've come to me at last." He would smile, ever so gently, and hold her in his arms.

"How could I stay away when such pain is felt in my absence?" Mallory would laugh tearfully and look up into his eyes.

"I have loved you through rain storms and sunshine. Through the hot intensity of the afternoon and the gentle mist of the morning, I have yearned for your arms about me as they are now. In the depths of my soul to the very height of my mind the feeling is the same. I love you, Erik. All the poetry in the world could not explain it any better. I need you as the rose needs the rain. Without your sweet and calming presence, I will not survive this world." Erik would sigh and brush away her tears with moving gentleness.

"The rain does not always help the rose. It often storms too hard and crushes the delicate blossom." His eyes would search hers for any doubt or sign of fear. "Are you willing to take such a chance?" "Better to be crushed in the throes of a storm than die of drought and carelessness," Mallory would declare firmly. "My heart is yours to break or to cherish. The choice is yours." Erik would smile then. His eyes would shine with happiness and content. He would lean closer to her, his lips nearing hers.

Mallory ceased her dream with a cry of anguish. She could go no further! Even her imagination could not conceive such a delight as his kiss. A kiss softer than a flower's petals and darker than the shadow of the moon. His taste would be as intoxicating as wine, as thick as honey. Would there be any greater felicity than that?

The sun began to set and Mallory knew she would be needed at home. No doubt her brother had gotten drunk again by now and would require assistance to his bed. Then her father would leave the house to gamble away the meager paycheck she earned at the failing bookstore. He would come back drunk in the morning.

At some point she would have to find another job. She also had to keep her grades from slipping. Her scholarship would only last as long as her straight A's did. She stood and brushed the grass from her skirt. It didn't help that she kept collapsing into tears at the drop of a hat. Her father and brother took pleasure in tormenting her about that. But how could she keep from it when her heart was being ground into dust?

Mallory wiped away the tears and walked back to her house. It would be another long night of studying ahead of her.

The shadow in the distance sighed unhappily. He hated to see them like this. The women, most often girls on the brink of womanhood, so often called to him to heal their hearts. He wished to help them all but that was not permitted. He could only watch…

And suffer.

Poor Mallory, she would not last another year, he feared. Her courage was failing. Soon another spirit would have to be led away from the thrills and sorrows of life. He would have to do it, too. It was his responsibility to take care of these girls. He smirked. Phans were often more trouble than they were worth.

But dear, sweet Mallory… He sighed. She did not deserve the fate that she had been given. God help the girl.

Another shadow, far less powerful and much more human, stood at a distance. The black cloak billowed about her as she wrote swiftly in a notebook. After a moment, she wiped away her tears with her hand. These stories were getting harder to write down with each passing day. She wondered when she would join the likes of Mallory.

"Hopefully not any time soon," she murmured. "I still have work to do." With that, she walked away from the sunset and into the beginnings of night.

_A single thought to those who read _

_The saying goes, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." _

_We all do that without a thought _

_Our closest enemies are our hearts _


End file.
